The Gamble

His tongue touched my lips, my mouth opened like it had a mind of its own and then I was in his arms. Max deepened the kiss and my hands slid around his neck, my fingers going into his hair. I went up on my toes, pressed into his body and he pushed me back into the counter.

It was as good as it was yesterday, just as good, which meant it might always be that good.

Which was bad.

His mouth broke from mine but he didn’t move far away. His hand came back to my neck, curling around, his forehead rested on mine and our heavy breathing mingled.

“Tried to wake you up last night when I got to bed, you were out like usual, didn’t have the heart in the end,” he whispered.

“Okay,” I whispered back, not really thinking because my mind was on my ni**les which had gotten hard and were tingling and my stomach which had somehow disappeared and between my legs which was tingling even more.

“Mindy was on the couch,” he went on.

“Oh.”

“No Mindy tonight,” he finished and I found that my stomach hadn’t disappeared because it spasmed in a way I really, really liked.

“Oh,” I breathed this time and I watched his eyes smile.

His thumb slid along my jaw. “You kiss like that, honey, lookin’ forward to findin’ out what else you can do.”

I kissed like that? It was Max who was a good kisser.

I didn’t tell him this, instead, I shivered.

Then I muttered, “Um…”

He interrupted me with, “Men are idiots?”

“Mostly,” I answered on a whisper and I heard and felt him chuckle.

“Hey! I know!” Mindy shouted from somewhere not exactly close but in Max’s house nowhere was exactly far.

Max closed his eyes, rolled his forehead to the side and his body unfortunately followed it

I hastily grabbed my bowl.

“What?” I asked when Mindy hit the kitchen.

“You and me and Becca can go shopping in town this afternoon then later we’ll take you to dinner.”

“That’s a great idea,” I told her.

“We got plans,” Max said from beside me and I watched as Mindy’s face fell.

Then I looked at Max and widened my eyes at him. He caught my hint, looked at Mindy then he sighed.

Then he said, “You bring her home, safe and sound, we can push ‘em to later.”

“Cool!” Mindy exclaimed.

“Doesn’t anyone around here work?” I asked.

“I work at The Dog with Becca so we work nights,” Mindy said, walking to the cold bacon and picking up a slice. “I’m off tonight, Becca’s gotta work but that isn’t until later.” Then she bit off some bacon and chewed.

I noticed that Max didn’t answer my question.

“You’re good to stay with Bec?” Max asked and Mindy nodded. “And we’re movin’ your shit there this mornin’?” Max went on, Mindy took another bite of bacon and nodded. “You’re gonna stick with this break with Damon?”

“A week, Max,” she said. “That was the deal we decided last night.”

“You stick with a week,” Max returned, sounding exactly like an older brother though, I couldn’t know, I didn’t have an older brother, just a dead younger one, but I was guessing since, even younger, Charlie used to sound like that a lot.

She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

Yes, definitely an older brother.

“Mindy,” Max’s voice was a warning.

All right, maybe a somewhat scary older brother. Charlie had never been scary.

“I’ll stick with the week,” she answered.

“You make Damon stick with it too,” Max pushed.

“Oh… kay,” she replied impatiently and I looked at Max to see he was grinning which, when I looked back at Mindy, I noted she found annoying.

“I love that top on you,” I butted in. “You should keep it.”

Mindy’s annoyed face disappeared and her eyes hit me. “I couldn’t.”

“You can.”

“But –”

“I’ll replace it in town this afternoon. There looked like there were some great shops.”

“They’re awesome!” Mindy cried. “I can’t wait to show you.”

“Me either,” I replied, spooned up more of my breakfast and when I was shoving it into my mouth, Max’s arm hooked around my neck and he pulled me into his side.

“Make me some eggs and toast to go with that bacon, Mins,” Max ordered, she rolled her eyes but headed to the toaster, I tested his arm around my neck and found it didn’t budge. “Hand me my coffee, Duchess,” he ordered me, I caught Mindy’s eye, rolled mine back, she giggled then I reached forward, his arm still around my neck, grabbed his mug and handed it to him.

So, in the end, I finished my breakfast pressed to Max’s side, his arm around my neck, watching Mindy make eggs and toast while Max sipped cold coffee.

And I not only didn’t tell him we weren’t going to explore our situation, I let him kiss me again, told him about Charlie and made a date to spend the afternoon and have dinner with, essentially, his baby sister who’d been raped only weeks before.

Yes, I was officially in trouble.

* * * * *

I took a shower in Max’s downstairs bathroom, hauling all my stuff down there to do it. There, I got ready while Max took a shower upstairs and Mindy sat on the toilet seat chatting animatedly to me like a girl who’d never experienced anything but extreme happiness while living in a land of golden rainfalls, fairies that granted wishes and dancing leprechauns that showered treasure on you.

When I was done getting ready which, if Max’s impatient yet amused demeanor was anything to go by took way too long, we all climbed into the Cherokee and went to Mindy’s apartment where we packed up a lot of her stuff. In fact, as far as I could tell since she and this Damon person didn’t have much, outside of dishes and furniture, it seemed like most everything she owned.

On a trip to the Cherokee with a box, I caught Max who was heading back in.

“Isn’t this, um…” I asked quietly, in case Mindy could hear, “a lot of stuff for one week?”

Max put his finger to his lips, winked at me then took the box from me and headed back to the Jeep.

When we were done packing up, we drove across town and then Becca helped us carry it up the two flights of stairs to her third story condo.

After we had Mindy safely ensconced in her new lodgings, Max took us out for lunch at a little rustic but lovely café by the river. We had a booth by the window and Max sat by me. Mindy and Becca did most of the talking, so much I didn’t have time to think much less room to speak. Though I did manage to think it felt nice the way Max lounged beside me, his arm across the booth at my back, his bearing laid back but possessive. And I also managed to remind myself I shouldn’t be thinking that way, even though I couldn’t stop myself from doing it.